Species: Gillellus healae, Masked Stargazer

Gillellus healae Dawson, 1982

Masked Stargazer

Body compressed, tapering to tail; head moderate sized; eyes on top of head, not on stalks, with a circlet of flaps at its tip; mouth upturned, with a protruding lower jaw, 4 conical skin flaps at front of lower lip, none on top lip; upper part of operculum with a frill of skin flaps; dorsal fin in 2 sections, 1st section a finlet of III spines with origin on nape, sometimes 1-2 free spines behind this, then main fin, XI-XIII spines, 27-29 soft rays; 31-33 soft anal rays; lateral line bends down just behind spiny section of dorsal fin; pelvic fins inserted under throat, each with I, 3, rays thickened and free at the tips; scales large, smooth; 22-23 scales on arched section of lateral line, 23-25 on straight part; head and underbelly behind pelvic fins scaleless.

Pale, a dark bar between eyes and extending down below them; with or without 7 major dark bars on upper body, from nape to tail fin base, those bars often pale centered, with narrow dark margins, bars usually equal to or narrower than interspaces, but sometimes wider at center of body; some fish with incomplete secondary bars between the major bars.

Reaches 6.3 cm.

Lives in sand bottoms.

Depth range: 21-75 m.

S Carolina to the S Caribbean.